By Clark C.K. Liu, Ph.D., P.E., F. ASCE

By

Clark C.K. Liu, Ph.D., P.E., F. ASCEProfessor Emeritus of Civil and Environmental Engineering , University of HawaiiFormer Director for Environmental Engineering, U.S. National Science Foundation

November 2012

WATER AND ENERGY NEXUS AND RENEWABLE-ENERGY-DRIVEN WATER

DESALINATION

MTES 2012

I. Water and Energy Sustainability in a Changing Environment

II. Water Desalination

III. Natural-Energy-Driven Water Desalination

IV. Concluding Remarks

CONTENTS

• Energy

• Water

• Food

• Environment

• Poverty

• Terrorism & War

• Disease

• Education

• Democracy

• PopulationSource: Richard Smalley, Nobel laureate

I. Water and Energy Sustainability in a Changing Environment

Humanity’s Top Ten Problems for Next 50 Years

•Fast growing demand for clean, fresh water•Increased demand for environmental protection•All parts of the world are vulnerable to water shortages•Water availability determines:

o Electricity supply and demando Electricity grid topologyo Societal and economic

infrastructure sustainability

Water is a Critical Resource

39%

Estimated Fresh Water Withdrawals by Sectors, 2000

Source: EPRI

•Energy is essential for modern life•Unsettling energy questions:

o Are rising prices of oil and gas real constraints?

o Should we start changing our life style?

o Is global warming already happening?

Energy is a Critical Resource

7

Energy and Water are Inextricably Linked

•Water is a limited resource

•Sustainable withdrawal of freshwater is a worldwide issue

•Energy requires water and water requires energy

•Energy – Water issues require a regional perspective

Water and Energy Nexus

Supply &Conveyance(0-14,000)

Water Treatment(100-16,000)

WaterDistribution(700-1,200)

Recycled WaterTreatment

Recycled WaterDistribution

(400-1,200)

WastewaterTreatment

WastewaterCollection

(1,100-4,600)

Discharge(0-400)

Source

Source

End-use• Agriculture• Residential• Commercial• Industrial

Water Use CycleBoundary

Source: California Water Commission, 2005

Energy Intensity in Water Use Cycle (kWh/MG)

•Readily accessible water supplies have been harvested

•New tecnologies are required to reduce energy requirements to access non-traditional sources (e.g., impaired water, brackish water, sea water)

Source: EPRI

New Water Supplies are Energy Intensive

Water and Energy Availability in a Changing Environment

1993

From 1962-2006, the area of Glacier #1 in Tsinghan Province, China, has reduced by 14%

Impact of Climate Change on Water ResourcesJoint USA / China Initiative

Climate Change and Hydropower Generation

Sea Level Rise and Water Supply for Coastal Cities

Reference:Liu, C.C.K., and J. Dai (2012). Seawater intrusion and sustainable yield of basal aquifers, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA), 48(5):861-870.

Major Desalination Processes•Thermal

•Multi-stage Flash Distillation (MFD)•Multi-Effect Distillation (MED)•Vapor Compression

•Membrane•Electro dialysis (ED)•Reverse Osmosis (RO)

Minor Desalination Processes•Freezing•Membrane Distillation•Solar Humidification

Reference: Liu, C.C.K. and Park, J.W. (2002). Water Desalination, McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology, Ninth Edition, Volume 22, the McGraw-Hill, New York, pp.404-406.

II. Water Desalination

Natural Water Distillation Process: Hydrologic Cycle

The energy required for maintaining the hydrologic cycle is 78 W/m2 of earth surface; while solar energy absorption at the earth’s surface is about 168 W/m2

The energy required for maintaining the hydrologic cycle is 78 W/m2 of earth surface; while solar energy absorption at the earth’s surface is about 168 W/m2

Membrane Desalination Processes

Reference: Liu, C.C.K. and Park, J.W. (2002). Water Desalination, McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology, Ninth Edition, Volume 22, the McGraw-Hill, New York, pp.404-406.

Reverse Osmosis Desalination Process (RO)

Thermal Desalination Processes

Reference: Liu, C.C.K. and Park, J.W. (2002). Water Desalination, McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology, Ninth Edition, Volume 22, the McGraw-Hill, New York, pp.404-406.

Multi-stage Flash Distillation Process (MFD)

Technological Development Needs for Membrane Desalination Processes

• High energy consumption• Scaling and membrane fouling

Brackish water desalination at the Ewa Demonstration Plant, Honolulu, Hawaii

Emerging Technology of Water Desalination1. Solar-Driven Water Desalination

Feedwater

Freshwater

Wind andSolar Energy

WindWind-energyConversion

Reverse Osmosis Module

SolarSolar-energy-drivenFeedback Control

Brine

Emerging Technology of Reverse Osmosis Water Desalination

2. Wind-Driven Water Desalination

Emerging Technology of Reverse Osmosis Water Desalination

3. Forward Osmosis

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forward_osmosis

Emerging Technology of Reverse Osmosis Water Desalination

4. Carbon nanotubes

Reference: Li, D. and Wang, H. (2010) Recent developments in reverse osmosis desalination membranes , J. Mater. Chem., 2010,20, 4551-4566

III. Natural-Energy-Driven Water Desalination

1. Open-cycle OTEC and Water Desalination

Mini-OTEC (closed-cycle) (1979)

Open-cycle OTEC (1994-98)

Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC)

Field Experiments in Toyama Bay, Japan, 1990-91

Artificial Upwelling and Mixing (AUMIX 奧秘 )

Field Experiments in Hawaii, 1991-92

Artificial Upwelling and Mixing (AUMIX 奧秘 )

References: Liu, C.C.K., and Qiao J. (1995). Artificial Upwelling in Regular and Random Waves, Ocean Engineering, 22(4):337-350. Liu, C.C.K., (2005). Artificial Upwelling of Nutrient-rich Deep Ocean Water for Open Ocean Mariculture, in: Recent Advances in Marine Science and Technology, PACON International, Honolulu, Hawaii, pp. 291-300.

Laboratory Experiments in the Ocean Engineering Lab., University of Hawaii at Manoa

III. Natural-Energy-Driven Water Desalination

2. Wind-Powered Water Desalination